Re: [Harp-L] Real creativity,,,warning,,WAY TOO LOOONNG


On May 7, 2007, at 2:27 AM, Barnum, Ansel (Ansel) wrote:

I entirely agree: Music infused with passion will forever be moving, however often it's heard. But if we were to listen to say,
Beethoven's 9th on a regular basis, its impact would be diminished (just one reason to abstain from doing so!) Similarly, artists
who we are especially fond of we'll naturally grow intimately familiar with, listening to every CD, every song, and every note
with scrutiny. This perhaps produces the unhealthy effect of heightening our anticipation for new material to feed our ravenous
appetites with more of their brilliance. So when none comes along the outcome is not just disappointing, but gradually
discouraging as the trend becomes apparent.

This is why I NEVER practice a tune that is dear to my heart and that I am going to perform somewhere. I will practice a tune that is SIMILAR and which will give me an intimacy of notes WITHOUT being the actual tune. I wouldn't want to over expose myself and therefore loose esteem for said tune and have it relegated to the ho-hum bin.

But you're right when it comes to many stresses that must burden artists on stage. That they're able to sustain the emotionally
draining activity of music production night after night is quite an impressive feat which I applaud on my feet at every show I
attend. Whether or not I'm applauding for a show of innovation is another matter....

This is the nice thing about being a person who rarely plays at a function. By rarely playing, I am never over exposed to the point where people know what to expect, and then by making judicious choices and covering a relative wide spectrum of material, I have the luxury of people never having either heard the tune I am doing (on harmonica) OR never having heard a version like the one I am doing. There are a few who come to the conventions and you know what to expect. I like a person whereas you never know WHAT to expect.

In my case, since I am unknown, I don't have to worry about being stale. A person whom is known will be expected to do stuff they are known to DO. A person who is unknown can be an unknown quantity and eventually be known for something completely different. I noticed that with Norton Buffalo and every time I hear him, he seems fresh and new.

I actually PREFER freshness in an artist. Even if I have listened to them for years. And while, I will occasionally revel in some of their older past works, I particularly don't like them to sound the same time after time after time. James Cotton was mentioned yesterday. James has ALWAYS been interesting. I find most harp and harmonica players to fit into niches and most of these niches leave me with the blahs, and I don't much pay much attention to their careers, nor do I support them much. Too many are out of the cookie cutter/copy cat mind set.

Maybe their style(s) dictate a general type of music that seems repetitious to me. I don't like repetition. Over the years I have seen certain artists a couple times (lets say 2). At the 2 point, I either decide I will WANT to hear them again, or not. If their batting average was suspect (let's say .500), I may not see them again OR if I do, I won't go out of my way nor travel any distance nor put myself out. Then there are those whom I WILL make these adjustments to my life for. Ricci fits THAT criteria, and I don't even PLAY that kind of stuff.

Every one should get something straight. When they are performing, the people who come to see them may have made sarifices, gotten a baby sitter, travelled in risky dangerous traffic, gotten a traffic ticket, had trouble parking, had a flat tire, ran out of gas, risked their lives in snow ice or sleet, etc. etc ad nauseum.

It is incumbent on the artist to never expect that they are God's gift, just shut up and play. And do it as if it mattered. Don't just get up there like an aging Sinatra, Martin, whatever and fart out a tune merely for the payday and walk around with their chest puffed out. No one is indispensable. Especially in the entertainment world.

just my drachma........... smokey joe


Ansel



-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Laughlin [mailto:rlaughlin@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Mon 5/7/2007 1:12 AM
To: Barnum, Ansel (Ansel); lil Buddha; Harp-l
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Real creativity,,,warning,,WAY TOO LOOONNG

SORRY,,but I always liked the idea of the "long version",,

I'm sure that your gripe with "canned repetition" is legitimate, as
legitimate as those who like to hear the same song played in the same way as
it was when they first heard it. The legitimacy of your desire to hear
something freshly interpreted is based on everyone's sad experience of
having heard something played "as originally written", but without soul,
without enthusiasm, without heart. There are nuances to playing something
from the heart that are perhaps there when first performed, that over time
may get old to the performer, for instance on a night when the artist has
had a difficult set of circumstances, and is just going through the motions,
with no particular love for the audience OR the music, but has to perform
just to fulfill his/her contractual obligations. Then, there are those
performers who have become relatively well-known, made some large cash, and
have no particular desire this night to "give it their all". That's
unfortunate, if you happen to have paid some "large cash" to attend.

I think all artists have their "off nights", though some are more given to
provide a good show for the attendees than others. Some performers at times
become so embittered over their present circumstances as to have almost NO
concern as to what kind of show they put on. They lash out at the band, kick
over equipment, and throw tantrums on and off-stage. Even the most
well-known of artists have their "hissy-fits". It takes a truly
self-controlled and graceful artist to avoid wearing their emotions at times
"on their sleeves", as this is part of performing, having a willingness to
be approachable, vulnerable, and at times, emotionally available to the
audience.

I hate it when I happen to attend a performance that bombs, but hey, we're
all just people. Sure, performers "ought" to just hike up their pants, and
"suck it up" until after they entertain their paying public, but not
everyone can do that, it would seem. Some artists have had reputations for
being fairly incoherent onstage, though at their best, they seem to shine..

In terms of classical music, many are appreciative of one who can accurately
re-create a wonderful piece, reliably, time after time, with seeming
flawless accuracy. Yet even then, there is an "interpretation", if only in
the speed of a particular passage, or the delicacy with which it is
navigated.

Pepe Romero, the well-known classical guitarist, who teaches at USC, said to
his masterclass students that "every performance should be an
interpretation". I tell my son this. He plays classical guitar, and well. He
was going to play recently for a group of women associated with the Orange
County Performing Arts Center, and I told him, "What these women want to
see, is a young performer who is not only technically proficient, but also
in touch with his feelings, with respect to the music, and is emotionally
available, not just playing notes, but demonstrating a sensitivity to the
music. Lean into it when you perform. Get immersed, emotionally invested in
the music."

I noticed, when I attended a performance of Pepe Romero's recently, that he
"leans into" his guitar, caressing it, making love to it. Music should have
that element.

Watching Adam Gussow's harmonica lesson clips on youtube.com, I noticed that
he refers to the performer as a "warrior", a "lover", and a "painter", in
the sense of having a fighting intensity, to bring something musical to
completion no matter what, loving it to take the time for doing it right,
not just rushing through it, and being creative, painting a picture, knowing
when it is "enough".

If only all performers could make it happen every time,,

When they're "off", there's something missing, some "crispness", some
subtlety of phrasing,,but it's all due to how "prepared" the artist is, how
"available", not only in technical execution, but even in how nourished or
how well rested they may be, or on the negative side, how affected they may
or may not be by some variety of chemical use or abuse. A refreshed yet
relaxed performer is often a good one. How one finds that balance is an
individual matter. There are so many variables, making the difference
between a "hollow man" going through the motions, and an entertainer.

Entertainment is an art. It's not just a matter of the mechanics.

So,,I like repeat performances,,if they are crisp, and fresh. But when even
the performer isn't inspired, how can the audience be? "Creativity" begins
within. If the song was good the first time, it's good every time, if it
retains that "living edge", and that depends on the performer. It's the
difference between playing it "tight", or "not quite right". A living plant
has both a zone of new growth, and some deadness, ready to be discarded. If
the performer is "dead", without life, the performance will seem like a dead
leaf, falling to the ground. If, however, the performer is "alive", the
performance will be like a flower opening.

One thing I like about music, and performing,,is that the music can be
freshly "discovered" each time it is played. This kind of musical
"discovery" is what will get an audience to stop and listen.






----- Original Message -----
From: "Barnum, Ansel (Ansel)" <Ansel.Barnum@xxxxxxx>
To: "lil Buddha" <ltlbuddha@xxxxxxxxx>; "Harp-l" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2007 8:52 PM
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Real creativity


I'm not looking for them to change styles, I'm not even asking them to
change songs (although that would be nice). All I want is to hear *some*
innovation, which usually takes place during the solo--that part of
blues/jazz which distinguishes the genera as one of improvisation. Instead,
I hear the same solo rehashed as it has been since the first time I heard
it.

I don't think variation in standards would alienate fans. They're
expectations are based primarily on the mood of the music, and secondarily
on the song itself. Both can be preserved while at the same time innovating,
even if it is only limited to the solo (whose adultery thereof few fans are
going to take offense at).

Nor do I think that exceptions should be excluded because they're
exceptions. On the contrary, it is the fresh exception to the tired rule
that I seek, for therein lies the source of inspiration: Those exceptional
minds which break through the barriers of convention to pave an new path to
creativity. 





-----Original Message-----
From: lil Buddha [mailto:ltlbuddha@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Sun 5/6/2007 2:03 PM
To: Barnum, Ansel (Ansel); Harp-l
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Real creativity

Ansel,

Setting aside the physical and psychological aspects of creativity and
aging, there is a very good reason your heroes do change their style;
money.

The unfair dilemma fans often out on their idols is this very question. If
you are the same all the time, some of your listeners will get bored. If
you
change, you risk alienating many fans. This seems to be especially true of
Blues.
If you have a fan base willing to buy your music, attend your concerts and
request your songs on the radio, you have no incentive to innovate.

Please, no Miles Davis referrals. He is an exception, as is Jazz. There
are
other exceptions, but they are just that; Exceptions.


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